Broody tractor design

[chameleon]

That sounds good - absolute best wishes for your little flock start up! I love to talk "chicken" so any way I can help is fun for me! I ended up having a not so great day when a hawk got one of the little cockerels I had let out into my garden. Ugh. Sometimes I wish chickens werejust a little higher up on the food chain!

I'm so sorry, that's awful

It does feel like everything is out to get them sometimes. My neighbour's kids snuck in a few days ago to look at the chickens and left the door to the run open. By the time I noticed one of the chicks was gone, and I suspect it was probably a hawk too, it's really a terrible feeling. Thanks for all your help and best wishes for the rest of your flock too!

 

[chameleon]

So here's the first rough plan. The tractor is around 5' x 6.6' and just over 3' high. It has extended poles on top for moving. The nest box will be slightly raised to keep it dry and the roosting bar will be about 1' off the ground.

 

[orrpeople]

So here's the first rough plan. The tractor is around 5' x 6.6' and just over 3' high. It has extended poles on top for moving. The nest box will be slightly raised to keep it dry and the roosting bar will be about 1' off the ground.

Wow! Nice design! Do you have a plan for a hatch (mine is on top) so you can open it up if you need to access the run area? Or the whole top can be attached with hinges and some safety latches so you could just open it up if you needed to - you may not even need hinges, just some latches so the entire top comes off.

 

[chameleon]

Wow! Nice design!
Do you have a plan for a hatch (mine is on top) so you can open it up if you need to access the run area? Or the whole top can be attached with hinges and some safety latches so you could just open it up if you needed to - you may not even need hinges, just some latches so the entire top comes off.

Great idea, thanks! I was thinking of making it so one of the sides folds down, but the top will be much easier to reach into.

 

[chameleon]

Hey, it's been a while. Long story short, my broody is broody again with 9 eggs due to hatch next week and I need to get the tractor done for her this weekend. Here is my updated plan:

.

The size change is to minimize cutting as those are the lengths available. On the nest box, one of the outside sides folds down for easy cleaning and checking on eggs/chicks etc... It will also have a lock on it to make it secure. Due to time and financial constraints, the entire tractor will be covered in hardware cloth, with a 20cm apron around the bottom as predator protection. I will put shade cloth over one half to provide shade and weather protection, with the posibility of covering the whole thing if and when necessary.

For now it will house 1 bantam hen with 9 chicks. As soon as the chicks old enough to tell which are cockerels and pullets I will sell 7 and keep 2. So it will eventually house 3 bantams.

 

[chameleon]

I should add that it's going to be 90cm high with the nest box slightly raised and the roosting bar 40cm off the ground. Any suggestions welcome, thanks.

 

[orrpeople]

I should add that it's going to be 90cm high with the nest box slightly raised and the roosting bar 40cm off the ground. Any suggestions welcome, thanks.

I really think it looks great! Please post pics when you get it built, and congratulations on the impending additions to your flock!

 

[chameleon]

I really think it looks great! Please post pics when you get it built, and congratulations on the impending additions to your flock!

Thanks! I got all the materials yesterday and I'll start on it today hopefully. I'll definitely putup some pics when I'm done.

 

[chameleon]

The frame is done (that's my 3 year old in the nest box

). I painted the wood with a stain this morning and now just have to put the hardware cloth over it.

ETA: I made the nest box a bit bigger because that was the only wood I could find and I didn't want to have odd pieces left over. It's 416cmx380cmx690cm, so it's going to be quite roomy for a little bantam hen, but at least she'll have a place to hide out with her chick on cooler, rainy days.

PS. I have no idea how my daughter got through the 20cmx20cm door. That's 7.87"x7.87"

 

[orrpeople]

The frame is done (that's my 3 year old in the nest box ). I painted the wood with a stain this morning and now just have to put the hardware cloth over it. ETA: I made the nest box a bit bigger because that was the only wood I could find and I didn't want to have odd pieces left over. It's 416cmx380cmx690cm, so it's going to be quite roomy for a little bantam hen, but at least she'll have a place to hide out with her chick on cooler, rainy days. PS. I have no idea how my daughter got through the 20cmx20cm door. That's 7.87"x7.87"

This is awesome - your daughter reminds me a lot of mine (who is turning 18 this summer!) when she was that age...in the middle of everything. Enjoy it, they grow up so very quickly!